When Russell Westbrook headed to the tunnel after the end of Tuesday’s loss to the Rockets—without, it should be noted, bothering to shake hands—you could feel some life drain out of the NBA Playoffs. If predictable, the Thunder guard's exit was also anticlimactic. Westbrook had held us all captive for a solid eight months straight. It’s hard to remember the last time this has happened in the NBA—or in any sport, for that matter.

However, even with Westbrook projected to win the MVP, the anti-Russ contingent has never been louder. Westbrook’s mammoth season has not only raised his profile, it’s changed expectations. Never before has Westbrook been so scrutinized. Where he once faced skepticism, he now has to contend with a full-fledged backlash. And maybe—just maybe—they have a point. It’s a moment of truth for Westbrook fans, of which there are more than ever before. Russell Westbrook’s 2016-17 was one for the ages. But exactly what did he accomplish?

There’s a reason why criticism of Westbrook has now reached a fever pitch. While Russ was typically explosive in the Rockets series, the fact remains that the league’s putative MVP went out in the first round with only a single playoff win to show for his efforts. Westbrook had us all in shock last fall, and then, slowly but surely, doubt crept in for some, followed by dismay. In the last few weeks, that’s given way to outrage and even a touch of bitterness. The issues raised, though, are totally reasonable. Westbrook is likely going to recognized as … well, something like the league’s best player. If you’re going to defend him, you need to understand full well what you’re fighting for—and against.

The case against Westbrook is simple: For all his individual brilliance, he was on a middling team that fizzed in the postseason. Jaw-dropping highlights and stat lines aside, Russell Westbrook just doesn’t move the competitive needle as much as he should. His style of play is divisive and yet it’s very hard to argue the ends justify the means. Even if you believe that Westbrook is a devoted teammate who plays well with others (as opposed to a reckless stat-padder), the Thunder’s performance is underwhelming when compared to, say, 2001 Allen Iverson or 2007 LeBron James, both of whom reached the NBA Finals with equally piss-poor supporting casts.

This is where Westbrook fans have to do some serious soul-searching. Yes, RUSSELL WESTBROOK AVERAGED A TRIPLE-DOUBLE. His was a totally singular season that we’ll be talking about for decades. Some of his critics might even grant him the MVP, since the award is a malleable proposition without strict criteria to guide it. Because this has unquestionably been Westbrook’s year, it makes intuitive sense to honor him and the MVP is the only real option. Yet if you get past this exceptionalism, you’re left looking at Russell Westbrook from a pure basketball standpoint. Presumably, riding for Westbrook assumes that he compares favorably to other elite players. And if any of us were starting a team tomorrow, we’d take LeBron, Kawhi or Harden over Russ. They win more games and their respective styles never leave you exasperated or confounded.

The former Thunder teammates are both having out-of-this-world seasons.

By

Nathaniel Friedman

Here’s where things get weird: It’s entirely possible that Westbrook fanatics aren’t holding him to conventional standards. Instead, Russ is allowing us to see the game in an entirely different light. Talking about who’s the best, most productive, or most impactful player—or who can serve as a template going forward—seemingly misses the points here. What makes Russell Westbrook special might be largely divorced from advanced statistics, rational decision-making, and even wins and losses. The point of sports is to win games. To this end, they’re more science than art, a trend that’s become especially pronounced over the last decade. But Westbrook’s game isn’t just an art form, it’s a religious experience. If not counterproductive, it’s at least a refreshing antidote to everything that can be tiresome and banal about our increasingly technologized sports landscape (and the world in general). Westbrook fans want that fix so badly that the final outcome is almost beside the point.

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This thinking gets really loop really fast. It almost suggests that we suspend judgment with Westbrook and instead just laud him for playing like an inspired maniac. It’s also hard to get around the fact that Westbrook is a hell-bent competitor. He wants to destroy everyone who crosses his path and manages to make it personal every time. But it’s always in the service of trying to get the W. It’s impossible to imagine an athlete pushing himself like Westbrook does if he were just trying to prove some larger metaphysical point about postmodern sports discourse. In fact, Westbrook wants so badly to win that, to paraphrase Ezekiel Kweku, the basketball seems almost secondary. His id-like urge to conquer could just as easily show up in another sport or maybe in another walk of life altogether.

We’re left with the bizarre prospect that Russell Westbrook himself might take issue with our reasons for supporting him. If I met Russ and tried to explain to him why he’s my favorite player, I would likely be met with the same scorn as his enemies. After all, to a professional athlete, what I’m claiming here about Westbrook makes absolutely no sense. But we don’t always look at sports in the same way as athletes do; we take away more from them than wins and losses. A large part of why we watch is bound up in not only mythologizing and narrative, but also our desire to take athletes as symbols, as indicative of things that may have meaning well beyond the world of sports. As a basketball player, Russell Westbrook may be flawed and indefensible. But as an idea, he remains as intoxicating as ever. It might be high time we Russ stans acknowledge his shortcomings—while, at the same time, celebrating him like never before.

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